Laphroaig 16 Year

Very random limited release from Laphroaig, what with the whole Amazon deal in Europe. Luckily, it made it to the shelves here in the U.S., as I'll always jump at the option to try age-stated Laphroaig. Nose: Many of the standard Laphroaig notes. Seaweed, iodine, smoke, sea salt, bandaid, tennis ball (you were absolutely right on that last one @Generously_Paul ). Interesting new car leather note. Chestnut. Spearmint and peppermint. Saltwater taffy. Fruity notes like apple, pear, and apricot. Some vanilla and butterscotch sweetness. Some cinnamon and oak. Much less peat intensity than some of the younger expressions. Solid start. Palate: Heavy campfire smoke, iodine, sea salt, seaweed, peat. Spicy black bean chili with red and black pepper. Cinnamon spice as well. Some heat here, but not unwelcome. Chestnut, caramel, vanilla, apple, pear, and milk chocolate. Floral and oaky. Interesting combination of sweet and heat, brine, smoke, and medicinal notes. But nothing we haven't seen from Laphroaig in the past. Solid nontheless. Finish: Still plenty of campfire smoke, iodine, seaweed, sea salt. Bandaid. You can taste the peat and smoke all the way to the end. Black bean chili, cinnamon, and oak spice. Toasted almond and chestnut. Fades away with oak, apple, pear, and vanilla. Moderate/long length. This is unusually mild for a Laphroaig. Fairly sweet, extremely fruity. Certainly a departure from the bold and brash 10 Y.O. and NAS variants that I love so much. With that being said, it's not what I want from Laphroaig. My lowest rated expression so far. However, I tend to rate Laphroaig very highly, so with such a high standard, it would be irresponsible to only compare this to those other offerings. Judged independently, this is quite enjoyable. There is plenty to take in here, and the Laphroaig DNA is palpable. Maybe age is a detractor here? All the notes are present, but the intensity is lacking just a bit. Regardless, this is a great tasting whisky with impressive an impressive age-statement and a respectable ABV. If you're a Laphroaig fan curious to see what an older Laphroaig tastes like without breaking the bank, this one fills that role nicely. I’m back with a new bottle almost 4 years later. No batch differences indicated. This is the “second release” but there isn’t anything on the packaging to suggest they did anything different. I added a couple notes this time. But for the most part, I’m getting almost the same exact profile. The difference is that I’m enjoying the cohesion of the profile much more than I did all those years ago. What I felt was my mild is now presenting as subtle elegance—the notes may not hit in an intense manner but there is a lot of depth here. For that, I’m boosting this a quarter of a star, and in fact, I feel like I could’ve done even got higher. But for now, that’s an appropriate score as it equally weighs this review and my original. 4.25/5.

Next up in my Laphroaig series, is a sample of the 16-year that was generously provided by @ctbeck11 The nose is soft and subtle starting with a mix of smoked salmon, grilled pineapple, honey lemon cough drops and leather-bound books then dark chocolate covered toasted almonds and freshly lit pipe tobacco followed by caramelized pears, nectarines and mildly sour cherries that transitions to mild baking spices, asphalt and polished oak with medium ethanol burn. The taste is a medium mouthfeel starting with creamy and slightly sour tropical fruits before a moderate spice that slowly fades to blonde espresso, smoked brisket and leather-bound books then dark chocolate with light sea salt, charred sourdough and freshly lit pipe tobacco followed by sautéed apples, nectarines and lemon zest that transitions to moderate baking spices, asphalt and mildly bitter black tea with medium ethanol burn. The finish is medium length, starting with sweet and slightly sour tropical fruits that fade to the background of tangy smoky meats, pipe tobacco, mild ocean brine, asphalt, leather-bound books and mildly bitter black tea. The nose is soft and subtle with those additional years in the casks taming those high smoke notes from the typical barbecue pit master opening their smoker to bask you in smoky glory into a mild and gentler smoked meat aroma that still maintains the dominant note but allows those mild sour citrus and polished oak notes to be able to provide a stronger impact. On the palate, the smoke comes through stronger than suggested on the nose with richer smoked meats that are still along the subtler side along with those sour tropical and citrus fruits that suffers from a higher spice than I prefer that throws off the balance and the oak veers towards a mildly bitter tea note that finishes with a mix of sweet and sour citrus that quickly fades to tangy meats, mild spices and black tea. After tasting the 15-year 200th Anniversary, I was eager to discover how a higher age statement with a 5% boost in ABV would impact the flavors of the 16-year and found that this is quite a delicious, well-crafted dram that I’d be happy to drink anytime but isn’t quite on par with the masterpiece of their 15-year 200th Anniversary as it isn’t as exceptionally balanced and the fruits lean heavier on the sour side which shows that older and higher ABV aren’t necessarily always going to be the better dram. At under $100 when these were released, I think these were a bargain to taste an older Laphroaig, but a quick search reveals that they have raised to around $150 today and I’d much rather just grab a bottle of Lore at a similar price that I find edges this one out. Ratings for the series so far: 10-year cask strength batch 11- 3.75 10-year sherry oak finish- 4.0 Lore- 4.0 2019 Caidreas Triple Wood- 3.75 2020 Caidreas Port and Wine - 3.75 2021 Caidreas PX - 4.0 15-year 200 Anniversary- 4.5 16-year- 4.0

Let’s not muck about, Laphroaig is serious whisky. Tonight a limited edition expression released in mid-2021, matured for 16 years in American oak casks. Just my third Laphroaig I am excited coming off the heels of my worst scored distiller whisky tasting. N: Oh boy (the same words I opened Lore with)! Rich and captivating I am instantly pulled into the glass. Soft yet powerful the peat grabs hold with dark meatiness, slightly plastic iodine, and a handful of freshly torn herbs. Theres so much more to this though, a gentle sweetness of pastry and orchard fruit. Still more unfolds with an earthy petrichor and aged leathery oak. P: Oily and ashy texture laden with brine. Chilli and pepper beautifully compliment soft peat smoke, light malt and charred BBQ meat ends. A juicy mid profile delivers balancing fruit with chocolate creaminess filling the edges. The spirit lifts with a zesty, bright and borderline floral freshness. The maritime presence continues with a mineralic to metallic flutter. F: Medium-long. Stony minerals, brine, ashy embers and smoky black tea. There may even be a little honey or sugary flourish too. Wonderful. My faith in whisky was shook by my last entry, faith restored. This is undeniably good, does it have faults, perhaps. Does it lean slightly bitter and spicy, maybe. Am I qualified to judge them, I strongly suspect not. Less ‘raw’ than the standard 10 but slightly less refined than Lore, this comfortably sits as a slowly developing powerhouse of depth, subtlety, and richness. The smoky, meaty, and heavy sounding flavours somehow perform a masterstroke of remaining bright and vivid with an uplifting warmth. This is everything whisky should be, engaging and thought provoking. Textures, aromas, and flavours all combine to deliver a lovely treat on a chilly autumn evening. Distiller whisky taste #174 [Pictured here with a Eurypterid. This critter, also known as a sea scorpion, is from the Silurian (~440-420 Ma) Bertie Formation in New York. Eurypterids are an extinct group of organisms related to modern horseshoe crabs and include the largest known arthropods to have ever lived at up to 2.5 m long. Formidable predators of the shallow, warm, seas they called home they also possessed a dual respiratory system and may have been the planets first animals to crawl out of the oceans and onto the land. ] Laphroaig running scores: Laphroaig 10: 4/5 Laphroaig Lore: 4.5/5 Laphroaig 16: 4.25/5

Nose - earthy peat, sparkling apple cider, pear, bright red fruit, iodine, brine, honey, marshmallow, rubber, menthol, sunscreen, sweet floral notes, cocoa, tar, ash, mint, caramel, vanilla, dry vegetal notes, resinous oak, black pepper, moderate ethanol burn. Taste - spicy peat, creamy vanilla, toffee, iodine, brine, chocolate, honey, tar, rubber, marshmallow, mint, lemon zest, black pepper, menthol, tar, caramelized apple and pear, moderate alcohol bite, finishing long with resinous peat, citric fruit, menthol, and tar flavors. We’re onto day two of testing my wife’s nerves with the beautiful aroma of Laphroaig wafting through the air. And how beautiful it is. It’s certainly a more complex nose than I’ve experienced on a Laphroaig. Additional time in the barrel has mellowed the peat and rubber, and really nice bright, sparkling fruit notes appear along with some spicy menthol and marshmallow. The palate arrives with the classic Laphroaig flavors, albeit much less violent than normal, but quickly gives way to chocolate, caramelized fruits, and a citrusy zing. Overall, this is great. Also, I appreciate that they’ve bottled this at 48%. The flavors are denser and more well developed, and it doesn’t seem overly diluted, as the standard 10 year did to me. Purists may find this lacking, as the gut punch you expect from Laphroaig is missing, but I think it’s really well done. I never thought I’d refer to a Laphroaig as elegant, but here we are. At $90 near me, it’s priced slightly less than Lagavulin 16 and I like this slightly less, but not by too much. Nonetheless, if you like Laphroaig, this is one worth grabbing at the right price.

I feel like one of the most exciting releases of this last year is this Laphroaig 16yo. I truly believe that this incredibly polarizing distillery wants to challenge the almighty Lagavulin 16 with this expression, the question that now rises is: Will Laphroaig achieve this goal? Lets review the whisky! Bottled at 48%abv, golden color. On the nose, your medicinal typical Laphroaig note right away. Tangerine, Povidyn tonic, and a wet/rainy feeling that transported me to 1998 when a climate phenomenon hit Ecuador, it is called "El niño". After a first sip, it gave me tea and scottish fudge.  It smells like a lotion for burnt skin, and rainforest. On the palate, it is quite good. Toffee and plastic. I can only describe the aroma as the furry cows in Scotland, if you ever get to experience that, you'll know i am speaking the truth here. Nerf toys. A second sip gave me this overall sensation of been at a pharmacy. Aftertaste is so artificial, like something made up in a factory. I really have a struggle to define things, because i am pretty sure this is like a synthetic chocolate. It is like a plastic bonfire.  Feels very artificial and mineral. Overall, i am truly amazed on how strange my review of this whisky might sound. But it is, what it is, and this one is a rollercoaster of some very interesting, well delivered flavors and aromas that happen to be a little crazy. It is no match for Laga's 16yo, it is like a completely different monster. My score for it is 90 over 100.

Yes this is Laphroaig from note to finish. What makes this whiskey so awesome is that you don't lose the peat smoke's vitality like you do in today's whiskys. Most Islay's the longer the age the more the peat mellows on this whisky however there isn't as much difference. Why? Well, because this is OLD Laphroaig not today's Laphroaig. It's like finding a dusty from the 60-80's or Buffalo trace finding old Stitzel/weller juice lying around. This 16 year is the last year of old school distillate before the Suntory/Beam merger that created a more corporate appeal to the masses approach think why Select, Trip. wood and PX cask finishing came to be trying to mask the medicinal notes and smoke. The phenols on this whisky scream Ardbeg. Heavy, dense, earthy (as opposed to normal medicinal) peat smoke, bacon, vanilla, citrus, pear hidden away in the back. Taste is peat smoke, the fruit/pear note, vanilla cream, honey sweetness, lemon and burnt orange citrus and then barrel spice and a touch of char from 16 years locked away showing up. Finish is long with the smoke staying around the longest but no where near the length or strength of a fresh 10 year old. The citrus, barrel notes also linger on with the honey sweetness hanging around faintly in the background. To get some of the last pre merger whisky have it bottled at a really nice 16 year age statement, and not be break the bank expensive at the cost of NAS Lore this is a WIN WIN WIN if you love peaty/smokey Islay scotches.